Slubbing mechanism



May 1, 1956 G. PARTINGTON 2,743,485

SLUBBING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 30, 1952 Q Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. GEORGE PARTIN GTON ATTORNEY y 1956 G. PARTINGTON 2,743Q485 SLUBBING MECHANISM INVENTOR. GEORGE PARTI NGTON ATTORNEY United States Patent SLUBBING'MECHANISM George Partington, Pawtucket, R. I.

Application September 30, 1952, Serial No. 312,197

4 Claims. (Cl. 1 9.-.--143.5)

This invention relates to an improved slubbing mechanism or attachment constituting an element of or an attachment used in connection with spinning or roving mechanism capable of forming yarn having slubs of varying lengths or thickness placed at irregular intervals therein, which yarn may have, at the same time, a crepe twist.

This invention is an improvement over my Patent #2,273,137, issued February 17, 1942, for a Slubbing Mechanism. The principal difference between that patent and this invention lies in a new mechanical arrangement which greatly enhances the result desired.

One object of this invention is the provision in a mechanism of this character of means for inserting in a thread or yarn, slubs of varying lengths and thicknesses positioned at irregular intervals throughout the extent of the yarn or thread.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of this character for forming yarn from textile fibres in sucha manner as to simulate Douppioni yarn which is normally made from a natural highly irregular silk imported from China, and which is characterized by having variations therein located in an irregular order.

' Another object of this invention is to provide an attachment or control means for a conventional spinning or roving machine which will cause the spinning or roving mechanism to operate in such a manner as to form 1rregularly located and irregularly shaped slubs in the yarn.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a modified spinning or roving forming mechanism of the characterdescribed adapted for use in the formation of yarns or rovings having irregularities. irregularly positioned therein.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a mechanism of this character which will be economical to construct and simple in operation while capable of use with or adapted for application to conventional forms of spinning and roving frames.

Other objects and advantages of this invention relate to various improved details of construction and novel forms and arrangements of the parts as will be more fully set forth in the detailed description to follow.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the new and improved slubbing mechanism before being attached to a spinning or roving frame.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of a detail mechanism shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a front view showing in section an arrangement of drawing rolls such as may be employed in a conventional form of spinning frame, and illustrating in side elevation portions of the roll operating mechanism as. well as operating elements of the improved structure.

Figure '5 is a detail sectional view through certain of the roll. operating elements which. are mounted upon a r 2,743,485 Ice Patented M y 1956 single operating shaft for driving the drawing roll operating mechanism.

Figures 6 and 7 are sectional views taken on lines 6-6 and 7-7, respectively, of Figure 5.

FigureS is a side elevational view illustrating a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 4.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to form cotton, rayon or other yarns or threads having irregularly formed and irregularly spaced portions therein such as would simulate Douppioni yarn. So far as known such efiorts have been successful only to the extent of making yarn having a definite pattern in so far as the slub arrangement is concerned and which may therefore be termed yarns possessing regularly irregular portions, that is, a yarn in which a definite pattern of irregularity is repeated over and over, so that the yarn when woven Will show a more or less definite arrangement of the irregularities in the woven fabric instead of disclosing an irregularly distributed non-uniform arrangement of the yarn irregularities which do not form a definite pattern and do not repeat. My Patent #2,273,137 accomplished this result to a marked degree. The present invention creates a greater diversity in the length and type of slub while greatly varying the pattern of the slub yarn in the the yarn through operation of some form of regulating mechanism adapted to interrupt or vary the operation of the rolls in an irregularly occurring order. sequence or degree.

In the form or embodiment of the invention illustrated herein there is provided a drawing roll mechanism, which may be of a conventional or any suitable type adapted for the purpose together with a form of regulating means and control therefor which may be built into the machine or employed as a temporary or permanent attachment connected therewith.

In the form of the machine shown herein (Fig. 4) a roll supporting frame 1, which may be of a conventional type, supports a plurality of top rolls 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 81, together with bottom rolls 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,16 and.17, which are adapted to receive therebetween. a roving or the like, 20, which may be passed downwardlythrough the rolls in the operation of the roll mechanism, as indi cated in Figure 4.

In the form of drawing roll mechanism shown herein the bottom rolls 11 to 17 are driven at progressively increased speeds in the order named, as by gear trains, substantially as indicated at 22 (Fig. 8). Both the rolls and the means for driving the same areof conventional form and arrangement in machines of this character, as is Well known in the art.

The front delivery roll shaft 23 extending across the front of the machine is driven by any suitable means and from any desired source of power at the end of the machine opposite to that shown and serves to transmit power to the gear train 22 together with the remaining machine elements and operating parts as shown in the drawings shaft 23 and drives the crown gear 26 with which it is operatively engaged. The crown gear 26 is secured to a shaft 27 which carries a small gear 28 operatively engaging and driving a lower roller driving gear 29 which is mounted for rotation on a shaft 30 and drives a small gear 31 fast on the shaft 30 by means which will be more fully described hereinafter. The small gear 31 in turn drives the conventional gear train 22 for rotating the several bottom rolls from the end of the machine frame shown in the drawings.

The machine parts and elements heretofore described are in general common to or typical of machines of this character for driving the series of bottom rolls, such as are indicated herein by reference characters 11 to 16 inclusive, at progressively increasing speeds from the rear to the front of the machine. As is usual in machines of this character, the bottom front roll 17 may be adapted to be driven at a speed as much as twenty times greater than that of the rear bottom rolls 11 and 12 for drawing the roving into a fine yarn at the point where it emerges from the roll, where the roving may be spun by means of a rotating spindle of a conventional type (not shown) operating at a high rate of speed.

The normal operation of a conventional form of spinning mechanism, as shown herein, results in the formation of a yarn of substantially uniform diameter and consistency throughout. The present improvement as represented by the mechanism now more particularly to be described, and which mechanism may be incorporated in a conventional machine of this character or employed as an attachment therefor, modifies the operation of the roll mechanism by introducing variations in the roll op eration at regular or irregular intervals and to a uniform or non-uniform degree, whereby slubs may be formed in the yarn at regular or irregular intervals of uniform or non-uniform lengths and thicknesses, although the mechanism is particularly adapted for the purpose of forming non-uniform slubs in the yarn at irregular intervals and in an irregular order whereby recurring pattern changes or repeats are eliminated in the formation of the slubs.

In the present construction, the lower roller driving gear 29 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 30 carried by roll support bracket 91. A gear 31 is keyed to the shaft 30, as is also a ratchet member 33, which includes a ratchet member 34 located adjacent to the lower roller driving gear 29 and a ratchet member 35 spaced therefrom longitudinally of the shaft 30. Pawls 36 are carried by the lower roller driving gear 29 and engage the ratchet member 34, being held in engaging relation with the ratchet member by springs 37. A slub control arm is rotatably mounted on the shaft 30 and is located adjacent to the ratchet member 35. The slub control arm 40 carries a pawl 38 mounted for engagement with the ratchet member 35 with which it is held in engaging relation by spring 39.

The slub control arm 40 extends outwardly radially of the shaft 30 and is mounted for movement in substantially parallel spaced relation with the plane of rotation of a slub control disk 41, which is rotatably mounted on a shaft 42 fixedly carried by a support 43, which may be secured to or form a part of the end frame 24. The slub control disk 41 is provided with a planetary gear 44 which is pivotally mounted thereon by means of a stud 45. A pinion gear 46 mounted on the end of shaft 42 and held thereon by means of screw 47, engages planetary gear 44. Pinion gear 46 remains stationary. Slub control disk 41 will revolve carrying with it a planetary gear 44 which will revolve around its stud 45.

Planetary gear 44 is provided with a pin 48, fixed in its face, which engages an elongated slot 59 in slub control arm 40. As planetary gear 44 revolves it oscillates slub control arm 40 and as slub control disk 41 revolves it changes the position of the stud 45 around which planetary gear 44 revolves, hence it varies the area in which slub control arm 40 oscillates.

The slub control disk 41 is provided with a sprocket Wheel 67 which is secured thereto and mounted concentric therewith through which the slub control disk 41 is driven by means of a sprocket chain 68 from a sprocket wheel 69 which is mounted on a shaft 70 carried by the support 43. A slub change gear 72 fixed to shaft 70 engages and is driven by crown gear 26.

These machines are usually constructed back to back so that for practical purposes two machines constitute a frame. The mechanism previously described is duplicated with the exception of sprocket wheel 69, shaft 70 and slub change gear 72. Sprocket chain 68 will vary in length depending on whether it will drive sprocket wheel 67 alone or both sprocket wheels 67 and 67.

In the operation of the mechanism above described the lower rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, are driven through the gear train 22 by means of the gear 31 which is keyed to the shaft 30 and driven from the lower roller driving gear 29, the gear 31 in the present construction, however, being mounted for rotation through operation of the ratchet member 33 by the pawls 36.

As the lower roller driving gear 29 is rotated by the gear 28 it normally drives the gear 31 through the ratchet member 33 by engagement of the pawls 36 with the ratchet member 34 to secure normal operation of the rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, until such operation is interrupted through operation of the slub control arm 40 by the slub control disk 41.

It is to be understood that the front driven roll 17 is mounted on the front delivery roll shaft 23 which carries the gear 25 driving the gear 26. This roll is driven constantly at a uniform speed, while the rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, are driven through the operation of the gear train 22. Consequently, the front roll 17 is not speeded up by operation of the overdrive means, but the rolls accelerated by operation of the overdrive means are the rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, which are normally rotated at slower speeds than the roll 17, and which. are driven through the gear train 22.

The speeding up or acceleration of the rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, is accomplished as follows. Slub change gear 72 driven from crown gear 26, drives sprocket wheel 69 and through sprocket chain 68, sprocket wheels 67, 67' are driven. Pin 48 in planetary gear 44 causes slub control arm 40 to oscillate through contact in elongated slot 50. Slub control arm 40 loosely pivoted on shaft 30 will cause pawl 38 to advance ratchet member 35 and shaft 30 to which ratchet member 35 is fixed. This causes the rollers 11 to 16 to speed up because the gear train 22 which drives them is speeded up. The timed relation of this oscillation is upset or made irregular by the turning of slub control disk 41 which carries planetary gear 44 through a cycle or complete revolution, thus affecting the position of pin 48 in elongated slot 50 and hence the throw or extent of oscillation of slub control arm 40 due to the change in leverage and the number of teeth pawl 38 engages in ratchet member 35.

The provision of the blank spaces on the ratchet 35 produces further irregularity in the operation of the mechanism by either varying the extent of overdrive of the ratchet 34 or the time of its occurrence, since certain movements of the control arm 40 may occur without being communicated to the ratchet 34 or may be communicated thereto only partially.

When the drawing rolls 11 to 16, inclusive, are suddenly speeded up by the overdrive of the ratchet 35 as operated by the control arm 40, yarn sections of greater or less length, dependent upon the degree and extent of the speedup, pass quickly through the rolls without be ing completely drawn out. This forms slubs of varying thicknesses and lengths in the yarn dependent upon the degree and extent of the accelerated movement, and these slubs may be irregularly positioned in the yarn by reason of the various non-uniformly occurring factors causing the speedup, such as have previously been described.

It will be seen from the above description that while i said slub control arm being operably connected through the ratchet mechanism to certain of said drawing rolls, a planetary gear system comprising sun and planet gears and means connecting said planet gear to said slub control arm for irregularly actuating said slub control arm which intermittently and irregularly actuates certain of said drawing rolls through said ratchet mechanism to form irregularly positioned thickness variations of a nonrepeat character in yarn operated upon by said drawing rolls.

2. The combination in a spinning frame provided with drawing rolls of a slub controlarm, a ratchet mechanism, said slub control arm being operably connected through the ratchet mechanism to certain of said drawing rolls, a planetary gear system comprising a sun gear, a slub control disk and a planet gear rotatably mounted on said disk, means connecting said planet gear to said slub control arm for irregularly actuating said slub control arm which intermittently and irregularly actuates certain of said drawing rolls through said ratchet mechanism to form irregularly positioned thickness variations of a nonrepeat character in yarn operated upon by said drawing rolls.

3. The combination in a spinning frame provided with drawing rolls and means for driving said drawing rolls of a slub control arm provided with an elongated slot, a ratchet mechanism, said club control arm being operably connected through the ratchet mechanism to certain of said drawing rolls, a change gear operably connected to the means for driving said drawing rolls, a sprocket driven by said change gear, a shaft fixed in said spinning frame, a sprocket wheel, a slub control disk fixed to said sprocket wheel, said sprocket wheel rotatively mounted on said shaft, a pinion gear fixed to said shaft, a planetary gear pivotally mounted in said slub control disk and engaging said pinion gear, a pin secured in said planetary gear, a sprocket chain connecting said sprocket to said sprocket wheel, said pin operably connected in said elongated slot for irregularly actuating said slub control arm which intermittently and irregularly actuates certain of said drawing rolls through said ratchet mechanism to form irregularly positioned thickness variations of a non-repeat character in yarn operated upon by said drawing rolls;

4. The combination in a spinning frame having two independent sets of drawing rolls and means for driving both sets of drawings rolls of two slub control arms, each provided with an elongated slot, two ratchet mechanisms and each slub control arm operably connected through V a ratchet mechanism to certain of the drawing rolls in each set, a change gear operably connected to the means for driving one of said sets of drawing rolls, a sprocket driven by said change gear, two independent shafts fixed in said spinningframe, slub control disk fixed to each sprocket wheel rotatively mounted on each of said shafts, and a pinion gear fixed to each of said shafts, a planetary gear pivotally mounted in each of said slub control disks and engaging the pinion gear, a pin secured in each of said planetary gears, a sprocket chain connecting both of said sprocket wheels to said sprocket, the pins operably engaging the respective elongated slots for irregularly actuating the respective slub control arms and their respective drawing rolls to form irregularly positioned thickness variations of a non-repeat character in yarn operated upon by the drawing rolls.

Great Britain Jan. 11, 1937 

